


a pirate's life for me!

by 26stars



Series: AU August 2020 [24]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Adventure, Boat-jacking?, Gen, PG-rated swearing, PG-rated violence, Pirate AU, Pirate's life for me, Thievery, if that's a thing?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:55:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26212249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/26stars/pseuds/26stars
Summary: It's not Melinda's fault that she ended up behind bars for a night, but she's got the kind of crew that will make her escape legendary.SHIELD Ladies Pirates AU for AU August day 31: Free Day
Relationships: Melinda May & Agent Piper, Melinda May & Skye | Daisy Johnson
Series: AU August 2020 [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1860802
Comments: 8
Kudos: 13
Collections: AOS AU August 2020, Women of the MCU





	a pirate's life for me!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LibbyWeasley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LibbyWeasley/gifts).



> Thank you Ellsey and Flor for the prompts/encouragement!
> 
> For Libby--thank you for making all my dreams come true with this event!

“Mel, is it not enough that I just broke you out of prison? Why do we have to press our luck by stealing a ship?”

“It’s not stealing, Piper; it’s _my_ boat,” Melinda grunted, adjusting her position as they waited, eyes on the quay.

“Yes, a boat that is docked in front of the Master-At-Arms’ office, the most visible place in the harbor…”

“You don’t have to come with me,” Melinda snapped, though she knew there was no chance of Piper staying behind. “I’ll manage just fine without you.”

Her first mate scoffed. “If it weren’t for me, you’d still be behind bars.”

“Would I? Or did you just arrive a little early?” Melinda gave her a smug look before glancing down at the water again. “Get ready.”

The two women tightened their grips on the ropes, watching as their targeted boat came gliding through the water beneath them.

“Now!” Melinda hissed, gripping her line and swinging down towards it.

The men on the deck of the two-mast ship they land on are easily dispatched off-sides, and Melinda took the wheel while sending Piper to make sure there are no more men below-deck. The sailors she just knocked into the water were already yelling for help as they swam way towards the nearby docks, and Melinda smiled as she heard shouting between other boats confirm that people were alerting the soldiers and pushing out after them as she swung the boat around towards the harbor entrance.

“Done!” Piper announced as she stumbled back up to the deck, dragging a man who appeared to be unconscious. “Toss him over?”

“If it’s really out cold then just disarm him and throw him in the longboat,” May ordered. “Otherwise he’ll drown.”

Piper tossed the man’s knife overboard and tucked his gun into her own belt, and as they neared open sea, Melinda checked behind them again. There were five ships on her tail, and in the distance, she saw her own ship, the Cavalry, moving out from the port.

_Perfect._

For a tiny ship, the stolen fishing boat moved fast enough across the water that they were well out of the harbor before any boats caught up to them. The nearest ones were also merchant and fishing boats, so they luckily weren’t equipped with cannons, but the men onboard had sidearms that they immediately began firing at Melinda and Piper once they were in range. Melinda ducked, using the bridge for cover, and yelled to Piper to get the next part of the plan ready. Her first mate readied the lines, and once another boat drew up alongside, still firing away with their pistols, Melinda spun the ship’s wheel to run straight at them.

The collision was mighty, and in the chaos of shouts and snapping wood, Melinda got a glimpse of the Cavalry bearing down on them. She still couldn’t see who was on deck, but it didn’t really matter yet. She and Piper took out the other men on the little boat, grabbed their guns, and were still in the thick of it when the Cavalry fired its first cannon, a ball whizzing just over Melinda’s head and bursting up a fountain of water behind her.

_Damn it._

Cursing inside, Melinda yelled a warning to Piper and raced back aboard their first boat. She grabbed the grappling hook they’d brought on with them, swung it, and launched it with enough precision that it wrapped around the Cavalry’s prow once and held fast. The line went taut and Melinda held on, hearing Piper groan right behind her as they were both yanked from the smaller boat and up into the air as the Cavalry sailed past them, too big to stop quickly.

Climbing a rope was no party on its best days, and though she was bracing herself to do this climb under fire, there was a noticeable absence of shooting as Melinda and Piper hauled themselves up the rope to the prow. At the top, Melinda hoisted herself over and signaled for Piper to wait below while she drew her gun, trying to get a glimpse of who was at the wheel…

It was just Daisy, grinning like a clown and waving her hat in greeting.

“About time!” she called at the sight of Melinda, and May grinned, gesturing Piper up after her.

“Well, when a cannonball came right over my head, you had me worried,” Melinda called back, making her way across the deck

“Ah, well, we started from the bottom and worked our way up,” Daisy called. “Simmons, Birdy, and Flowers are still tossing them out. Yo-Yo’s locking up the Master-At-Arms in the brig.”

As if on cue, a yelp followed by a splash echoed up alongside the boat, and Melinda glanced down to see a uniformed man paddling towards one of the boats left in the water around them.

“Well done, girls!” Melinda called, hoping she could be heard below deck. “I’ll be having that post back now, Quake.”

“All yours, Captain,” the younger woman said easily, surrendering the wheel to Melinda. “Any orders?”

Melinda grinned, turning the Cavalry towards the horizon. “Break out the rum!”


End file.
